The chicks, the camel and the tree. Examples of prophetic mercy
Prophetic mercy in action
It has been 1454 years (1500 Hijri years) since our beloved Prophet ﷺ was born – a mercy gifted to this world. As Allah Almighty stated in the Quran in Surat al Anbiya (ayah 107), “We have sent you as a mercy to the worlds” – not just to world of humans, but also the jinn, and animals, and the rest of creation. I will share with you some of the examples that demonstrate and reflect his mercy. The seerah is replete with examples.
عَنْ ابن مسعود رضي الله تعالى عنه قَالَ:
كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي سَفَرٍ، فَانْطَلَقَ لِحَاجَتِهِ، فَرَأَيْنَا حُمَّرَةً مَعَهَا فَرْخَانِ، فَأَخَذْنَا فَرْخَيْهَا، فَجَاءَتِ الْحُمَّرَةُ فَجَعَلَتْ تَفَرَّشُ ، فَجَاءَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ : ” مَنْ فَجَعَ هَذِهِ بِوَلَدِهَا ؟ رُدُّوا وَلَدَهَا إِلَيْهَا “.
وَرَأَى قَرْيَةَ نَمْلٍ قَدْ حَرَّقْنَاهَا، فَقَالَ : ” مَنْ حَرَّقَ هَذِهِ ؟ “. قُلْنَا : نَحْنُ. قَالَ : ” إِنَّهُ لَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُعَذِّبَ بِالنَّارِ إِلَّا رَبُّ النَّارِ “.
رَوَاهُ أَبُو دَاوُد.
The bird and her chicks
Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
He said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on a journey. He went away to relieve himself, and during that time we saw a small bird (lark) with two chicks. We took its chicks, and the bird came fluttering about (in distress). The Prophet ﷺ returned and said: ‘Who has distressed this bird by taking its young? Return its young to it.’ (Abu Dawoud)
In a narration recorded by Imam al-Bukhari in Adan al Mufrad, a bird hovered above the Prophet ﷺ, fluttering its wings in distress. The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Who has taken its chicks?” One of the companions replied, “I did.” The Prophet ﷺ then instructed, “Return its chicks to it out of mercy.”
The bird had come to the Prophet ﷺ to complain of the injustice done to its young. Understanding its plea, the Prophet ﷺ directed his companions to return the chicks and restore justice to the bird.
Although eating birds is permissible, he showed them that it was not kind to distress the bird. He felt her agony and stress, and instructed them to return her chicks. This was the Messenger of the divine mercy – he had mercy for all. It was not just a claim, it was reality, and it was manifested through his practice. His rahma extended from bird and animals to everything around him.
The ants
On the other occasion, the companions started a fire which set alight a colony of ants.
Then he saw the ant colony that they had set on fire. He said: ‘Who has burned this?’ They said: ‘We did.’ He said: ‘It is not befitting that anyone should punish with fire except the Lord of the Fire.’” (Abu Dawoud)
Scholars commented that unless these ants were harmful ants then it’s a different story. But he saw that these ants were not harmful, why did you start the fire in their colony? Don’t do that. This is the reflection of his mercy – even to the ants, the smallest being.
The sad camel
‘Abdullah ibn Ja‘far (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
عن عبد الله بن جعفر رضي الله عنه قال: (أردفني (حملني) رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ذات يوم خلفه، فأسر إلي حديثا لا أخبر به أحدا أبدا، وكان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أحب ما استتر به في حاجته هدف أو حائش نخل (مجموعة)، فدخل يوما حائطا (بستانا) من حيطان الأنصار، فإذا جمل قد أتاه فجرجر وذرفت عيناه، قال بهز وعفان: فلما رأى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حن وذرفت عيناه، فمسح رسول الله لى الله عليه وسلم سراته وذفراه (ظهره وأذنيه) فسكن، فقال: من صاحب الجمل؟ فجاء فتى من الأنصار فقال: هو لي يا رسول الله، فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: أما تتقى الله في هذه البهيمة التي ملككها الله، إنه شكا إلى أنك تجيعه وتدئبه (تتعبه)) رواه أبو داود.
‘ “The Apostle of Allah(ﷺ) seated me behind him (on his ride) one day, and told me secretly a thing asking me not to tell it to anyone. The place for relieving himself dearer to the Apostle of Allah(ﷺ) was a mound or host of palm trees by which he could conceal himself. He entered the garden of a man from the Ansar. All of a sudden when a Camel saw the Prophet ﷺ it wept tenderly producing yearning sound and it eyes flowed. The Prophet ﷺ came to it and wiped the temple of its head. So it kept silence. He then said “Who is the master of this Camel? Whose Camel is this? A young man from the Ansar came and said “This is mine, Apostle of Allahﷺ.”
He said “Don’t you fear Allah about this beast which Allah has given in your possession. It has complained to me that you keep it hungry and load it heavily which fatigues it.” (Abu Dawood)
Now, one might ask, how did the Prophet ﷺ understand the language of this camel? It is one of his miracles that he even understood the language of the tree trunk that was weeping, because it was longing for the Prophet ﷺ.
The weeping tree trunk
As in Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ used to stand on a tree trunk to deliver his khutbah, before a mimbar was built for him,. And when the carpenter in Madinah built the mimbar for the Prophet ﷺ, he left the tree trunk and stood on the mimbar. On that very occasion, the tree trunk started weeping, and the whole mosque could hear the sound of weeping. So, the Prophet ﷺ left the mimbar and embraced the tree trunk, calming it down. Then later he asked them to bury it, and when you go to Madinah, there is a special column in the mosque of the Prophet ﷺ called the ‘Weeping Tree Trunk’. It’s behind the mimbar, very close to the mimbar. We see that his mercy extended beyond humans and animals. All these examples convey the lesson that those who show mercy will receive mercy. And those who do not show mercy will find that mercy will not be shown to them.
The Prophet ﷺ asked his companions to return the chicks to the bird because the mother was distressed. Reflect on this, how many mothers today in Palestine have lost their children? How many are living in constant stress and agony? The Prophet ﷺ even forbade burning an ant colony, yet these war criminals are burning Palestinians alive.
The Prophet ﷺ warned us: those who do not show mercy will not be shown mercy. (Bukhari).
Today, we keep hearing empty condemnations: “We are concerned, this is unacceptable, this is condemned.” But words are not enough. What we need is legal action and international sanctions. When it came to Ukraine, sanctions were imposed swiftly. There were actions, not just statements. Where is that same action now, while genocide is committed in broad daylight? Enough condemnations. What is needed is justice, real measures, real change.
Develop and increase mercy
Is it possible to learn mercy? Yes. In the famous narration, a Bedouin once came to the Prophet ﷺ and saw him kissing his grandchildren, Hasan and Hussain. He said, “You kiss your children? I have ten children and I never kissed any of them.” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “What can I do if Allah has removed mercy from your heart?” (Bukhari).
This is our lesson: mercy must be extended, nurtured, and taught to ourselves, our children, our community. It must extend to human beings, to animals, to the environment. Mercy is not limited; it is expansive. It is divine, coming from Allah Almighty. May He fill our hearts with this mercy and make us its carriers in the world.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 6th Sept 2025 / 12 Rabbi al Awwal. Transcribed by Z Sheikh.